Abstract
Objective
We examine how access to and use of oral and dental care under the Children's Health
Insurance Program (CHIP) compared to private coverage and being uninsured in 10 states.
Methods
We report on findings drawn from a 2012 survey of CHIP enrollees in 10 states. We
examined a range of parent-reported dental care access and use measures among CHIP
enrollees. Comparisons of the experiences of established CHIP enrollees to the experiences
of newly enrolling children who had been uninsured or privately insured were used
to estimate the impacts of CHIP on children's oral health and dental care.
Results
Most children enrolled in CHIP had a usual source of dental care and had received
a dental checkup or cleaning in the past year, and most over age 6 had had sealants
placed on their molars. In addition, parents of most CHIP enrollees were aware that
CHIP covered dental benefits, and most reported not having trouble finding a dentist
to see their child. Even so, 12% of CHIP enrollees had unmet dental care needs. Compared
to being uninsured, CHIP enrollees did better across nearly all oral health measures.
Compared to being privately insured, CHIP enrollees were more likely to have dental
benefits, to have a usual source of dental care, and to have had a dental checkup/cleaning,
but they were more likely to have trouble finding a dentist and less likely to say
that their child's teeth were in excellent/very good condition.
Conclusions
Enrolling eligible uninsured children in CHIP led to improvements in their access
to preventive dental care, as well as reductions in their unmet dental care needs,
yet the CHIP program has more work to do to address the oral health problems of children.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 25, 2015
Accepted:
February 17,
2015
Received:
November 3,
2014
Footnotes
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
